The present invention is directed to determining the angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip of an aircraft, and more particularly to a computational method and apparatus for making such determinations, thereby eliminating the need for air data sensors used with traditional air data systems.
Air data systems are required on aircraft as part of the flight control system. These systems require the addition of air data pressure sensors to the exterior of the aircraft to measure the angle-of-attack (AOA) α and angle-of-sideslip (AOSS) β. On stealth aircraft a flush-port air data system (FADS) is typically used. These FADS systems typically have in excess of 10 pressure ports/sensors. These sensors make the aircraft less stealthy, and increase maintenance and operations costs. Such air data systems must also be redundant electrically and mechanically, have significant heating requirements to make them operational in all weather conditions, and require significant software development effort.